Naruto: I have Ten Skill Bars

"The power of nature transformation… chakra control… and mental fortitude."

Shigure took a slow, steady breath and casually sat down cross-legged on the ground.

"All the elements needed for chakra fusion should be in place now."

This time, there shouldn't be any issues. Even if his elemental affinity wasn't strong enough yet, he could simply endure a bit longer until the breakthrough happened.

"Tonight… the fusion has to succeed."

Even partial success would be enough. As long as he managed to fuse a portion, the system would recognize it as a new ability.

After that, he could continue strengthening it through the passive skill slot until the fusion was perfected.

With the system's skill bar, all Shigure really needed was the initial breakthrough—the rest could be left to passive refinement.

With that thought, Shigure closed his eyes and began adjusting his state of mind.

Chakra Fusion.

His last attempt at fusing two fire-nature chakras had only used a tiny amount of chakra, yet the result had been disastrous. The blast from even that faint fusion left him badly shaken.

But things were different now. His chakra nature and chakra reserves had both improved.

At this stage, even a small unstable fusion could prove lethal if he wasn't extremely cautious.

"I'll start with the weakest possible chakra output."

"Use the smallest amount of chakra... and control the ratio precisely."

Fifty-fifty. That was the natural baseline for an equal fusion. He would start there, observe the reaction, and tweak it accordingly.

A weak, flickering flame ignited in his left palm.

Meanwhile, the chakra in his right hand coalesced into a tiny orb.

Carefully, Shigure brought his hands together, guiding the two types of chakra to meet.

Just like before, the chakra began to interact, then slowly attempted to merge.

And the moment they fused—

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted!

The blast was much more intense than last time. Shigure was thrown back, and two shallow wounds were torn open across his chest.

Fortunately, the chakra quantity had been minimal. The damage was mostly superficial—just some torn skin and minor burns.

But Shigure didn't even flinch at the pain.

Instead, his mind instantly retraced the process, analyzing every detail of what had just happened.

His heightened chakra control and increased mental focus helped him pinpoint where it all went wrong.

"The moment fusion began, the elemental chakra couldn't suppress the flame's nature. It immediately destabilized and scattered—then the flame surged out of control, triggering the explosion."

Now it made sense.

Every time he attempted fusion, the flame chakra was triggered, but without proper control, it quickly spiraled out of balance.

It wasn't that the chakra fusion failed—it was that the fused chakra ignited too early, and he lacked the technique to restrain it afterward.

If he couldn't stabilize the flame's energy right after it merged, it would always lead to a volatile eruption.

That was the root of every explosion so far.

"In that case… reduce the proportion of Fire-natured chakra."

Shigure decisively cut it down to ten percent.

Even if the fusion failed, as long as there was no explosion, it would still prove the theory was valid.

He quickly treated the shallow wounds on his chest and began his second attempt.

Sure enough, with the new ratio, the moment the two chakras touched and started to merge, the Fire-nature chakra surged—on the verge of erupting again.

But this time, it was suppressed.

There was no explosion. Instead, the chakra's temperature steadily rose, gradually becoming hot.

However, it didn't last. After a few seconds, the elemental chakra dissipated entirely.

Shigure opened his eyes.

"...No explosion, but still not a successful fusion."

That meant the ratio was wrong, or one of the chakra natures lacked sufficient strength.

Still, even if the power was too weak, the fusion shouldn't collapse like this unless the balance was off.

He needed to find the exact ratio—one that wouldn't collapse the fusion—then gradually enhance the strength of the elemental transformation.

Once the right balance was found, the rest would fall into place.

Trial & Error Begins—

10% Fire: Failed.

5% Fire: Still unstable.

4% Fire: A minor flare-up occurred—close to explosion.

—Still too much Fire.

3% Fire: Much more stable… but ultimately collapsed.

—This time it was likely too much elemental chakra overall.

2% Fire:

1% Fire:

0.5% Fire:

—Finally, the chakra fusion stabilized.

It held for ten whole minutes.

Shigure stared at the liquid chakra in his hand. As time passed, it slowly evaporated—until all that remained was a faint flicker of flame.

He blinked.

"...Does this count as a success?"

[System Notification: Congratulations! The host has successfully mastered Fire Attribute Fusion.]

Yes!

The system's message confirmed it—fusion successful.

However...

It hadn't fully evolved into Boiling Release (Futton).

While the chakra mixture did show boiling traits, it didn't qualify as Boiling Release—not yet.

Maybe that's where the real issue lay.

It wasn't about fusion alone. It was about triggering the boiling transformation itself.

In that case… the next step was clear:

He had to further enhance the elemental power of the Fire nature chakra.

Hours had passed.

Shigure glanced at the time. It was already early morning.

Seven hours had gone by without him noticing. He'd been so focused on chakra fusion that he'd lost track of time.

But he wasn't done yet. There was still time left tonight.

He had to complete the Boiling Release fusion.

"Let's see what the passive skill bar looks like..."

[Passive Skills Acquired:]

Fire Attribute Fusion

Fire Release (Katon)

Escape Technique

Chakra Refinement Method

Basic Genjutsu

Konoha-Style Kenjutsu

Bit by bit, his skill bar was growing—and so was his strength.

After waiting a few minutes to stabilize his chakra flow, Shigure resumed the fusion experiment.

This time, the two chakras blended smoothly. No resistance, no explosions.

He could feel the chakra… boiling—constantly churning and seething—but still, no boiling release manifested.

And then—

[Great Sage※: The host is strengthening both chakra natures equally. In this state, the flame will never push the mixture to the boiling point.]

Shigure froze.

"...That… makes sense."

If both chakra types increased in power equally, they would remain balanced—never reaching the unstable boiling condition that Boiling Release required.

[Great Sage※: Suggestion —

Reduce the intensity of elemental transformation.

Remove the Escape Technique and focus solely on Fire Release enhancement.]

The first option demanded extreme chakra control—probably too difficult right now.

So he chose the second.

Shigure removed Escape Technique from the passive bar.

Now only Fire Release remained—and its power was steadily rising.

Ten minutes later—

HSSSSSS!!!

Steam suddenly burst from his hands.

It hissed and roared, exploding violently like fire. The temperature around him spiked, waves of heat rolling from his body.

Inside him—his chakra was boiling.

Shigure's eyes flew open.

[System Notification: Congratulations! You have acquired a new ability – Boiling Release (Futton)]

Success!!!

...

TN:

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